Pogrebetsky via n.d. from the North

Route description.

From the initial bivouac on the moraine of the Molodezhny glacier, exit onto the Tuyuksu glacier and, bypassing the northeastern ridge of the Molodezhnaya peak, move along the middle of the glacier to its drop. Then deviate to the left and, bypassing large stones at the foot of the ridge of the Tuyuksu peak, reach the snow-ice step, then cross the right outflow of the Tuyuksu glacier and approach the northern wall of the peak, then continue moving under the rock outcrop along the snowy slope with a steepness of 30–35°. This section is dangerous: rockfalls and ice break-offs are possible. Therefore, it is recommended to start the route earlier, so that two-thirds of the path can be overcome before

First Ascent to the Western Peak "Bezbozhnik" via the North Face

The peak "Bezbozhnik" is located in the Dmitriyevka spur, which branches off from Stal'skiy peak and separates the Stal'skiy Glacier to the north and the Frunze Glacier to the south; both glaciers feed the tributaries of the Leviy Talgar River. To the east, "Bezbozhnik" peak is separated from Frunze peak by a pass of the same name, and to the west, a rocky-snowy ridge connects "Bezbozhnik" peak to an unnamed peak. The Leviy Talgar valley is rarely visited by climbers from both "Talgar" and "Tuyuk-Su" alpine camps (due to the non-classification of peaks and remoteness). At the beginning of the summer season in 1962, a group of instructors consisting of Mansurov B.Sh. and Postnikov V.V. conducted a reconnaissance in the Leviy Talgar area. They took photographs, compiled piton records, and descriptions of many peaks. The reconnaissance aimed to find routes of 5B category difficulty. Three routes were discovered:

• to the peak Konstitutsiya via the wall,
• to an unnamed peak in the area of the Dmitriyevka lesgik,
• to the "Bezbozhnik" peak. There was one existing route to "Bezbozhnik" peak with a category of 4B-5B. A group of instructors consisting of:
• Mansurov B.Sh.

DESCRIPTION

First Ascent of the North Face of "Bezbozhnik" Peak (4360 m)

The "Bezbozhnik" peak is located in the ridge that separates the S. Stal'skii glacier to the north and the Frunze glacier to the south; both glaciers feed the tributaries of the Left Talgar River. To the east, "Bezbozhnik" is separated from the Frunze peak by the Frunze pass, and to the west, a short rocky-snow ridge connects it to a nameless peak. The "Bezbozhnik" peak consists of several rocky towers connected by ridges. The highest point is the "pero" gendarme on the central tower. This tower is distinct from the northern tower, which is visible from the S. Stal'skii glacier cirque and the Talgar pass as the "Bezbozhnik" peak. To the south of the central tower stands the southern tower of the same height as the northern one. From the northern tower, a steep counterfort descends northeast to the S. Stal'skii glacier. The tower drops off to the north with an almost sheer wall, approximately 650 m high. The lower part of the wall's base is snowy, about 150 m, and above the bergschrund, it's icy, about 75 m, with a steepness reaching 70° in the upper part. Further up, there's a rocky wall, partially snow-covered, not lit by the sun due to its northern aspect. On September 8, 1958, the assault team consisting of: – Stepanov V.V. — 1st sports category,

Ascent Passport

1. Ascent class — combined
2. Ascent area — Tian-Shan, Trans-Ili Alatau ridge.
3. Peak — Peak Komsomola, height — 4376 m, route — along the north-eastern ridge (through the peaks Sneznoe plato, Lastochkino gnezdo, Ushbinka, Verblud).
4. Estimated category of difficulty — 5A in winter.
5. Route characteristics:
   • height difference — 880 m
   • average steepness — 50°
   • length of sections with 5th cat. diff. — 315 m
6. Pitons driven:

Description

Traversing Peak Kommunizm (Komosomola) with ascent via the Northeast ridge from the Kommunar (Komosomolets) Glacier and descent to the South onto the Bogdanovich Glacier. In winter conditions, the route corresponds to category 5A difficulty. The traverse of Peak Kommunizm by this route begins from the Kommunar Glacier, which descends in a NE direction from the peak. The approach to the start of the traverse at the lower part of the Kommunar Glacier can be made via different paths:

1. From the valley of the Leviy Talgar River along the stream bed and moraines of the Kommunar Glacier.
2. Through the Chkalov Pass, situated between the peaks Chkalov and Fizkulturalnik.
3. Via a pass in the same spur, through the saddle between Peak Kommunizm and Peak Fizkulturalnik. The group that compiled the description took the second option, as this route is shorter and in winter conditions is the safest. After reaching the Kommunar Glacier, one should rest. The bivouac is usually set up opposite the couloir descending from the NE ridge to the glacier, slightly north of the ridge's peak known as "Snezhnoe plato" (Snowy Plateau). Choosing a bivouac site is not difficult: there are moraines, scree, and in summer, water.

Sovetov (4317 m)

Ascent via the Northwest Ridge — Cat. Diff. 16B (Fig. 12)

The Sovetov peak is located in a small spur extending from the Lokomotiv peak towards Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake, and has a pyramidal shape. Fig. 12. Access paths to it from Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake in the Ozernaia River valley. After 4–5 km, the Yuzhny Sovetov glacier. Traverse the middle part of the glacier, bypassing the northwest rocky ridge of the peak. Then ascend the ridge, traversing scree on the southern slope to reach the northwest snowy ridge. Large snow cornices hang on the eastern side of the ridge, with rock outcrops in several places. The ascent via scree, bypassing the first rocky ridge, continues to the second group of rocks. In the middle part of the ridge, there is a third group of rocks, bypassed on the right side. Then follows a long, steep section of the ridge. In the first half of the summer season, it is covered with snow; from August, ice sections appear, and step-cutting becomes necessary. The descent follows the ascent route down to the second rocky ridge; from there, descend down a steep snow slope onto the Sovetov Yuzhny glacier, bypassing the spur jutting into the glacier from the south. The ascent to Sovetov peak takes 4–5 hours; the descent takes about 2 hours. The first ascent via the northwest ridge was made in August 1938 by climbers from the Abai Kazakh Pedagogical Institute, D. Tugambaev, S. Semin, and L. Ignatov, led by V. Zimin.

Recommendations for Climbers

1. The number of participants is not limited.

Soviet Alpinists (4379 m)

Ascent to the West summit via the northwest ridge — category 1B difficulty

North of the Molodaya Gvardiya peak, a ridge called Turistov stretches from the Malo-Almatinsky spur towards the Leviy Talgar gorge. Here, immediately beyond the branch, the Soviet Alpinists peaks, West and Main, rise. The initial bivouac is on the moraine of the Mutny glacier. The ascent route runs through the Turistov pass (4030 m) along the northwest ridge of the peak. From the pass, turn south, moving along the scree towards large rock fragments, then onto the rocky ridge. The rocks are easy, moderately difficult, and heavily weathered. After 100–120 m, move into a couloir with a slab-like structure. The rock is heavily damaged (be cautious!). Traverse the couloir to the right, ascend to a rock tower and bypass it on the right. Further, the route passes along the northwest rocky ridge past easy gendarmes to a firn section with a slope of 35–40°. Then, again rocks lead to the West summit. The ascent from the pass to the West summit takes 4–5 hours. The climb is not recommended for a large group due to the severe rock damage. Descent is via the ascent route. The ascent takes 7–8 hours.

Recommendations for Climbers

1. Number of participants: 6–8 people.
2. Initial bivouac on the moraine of the Mutny glacier.
3. Departure from the bivouac at 6:00.
4. Equipment for a group of 4 people — 2 × 30 m dynamic rope.

REPORT on the first ascent via the North-North-West ridge Group of instructors from TALGAR alpine camp

Ponkratov	E. I.	1st category, leader
Zotov	A. V.	2nd category, participant
Shabrukov	V. I.	1st category — « — »
Gerost	V. P.	2nd category — « — »
Zhukov	N. A.	2nd category — « — »
Alma-Ata, 1977

Ascent Passport

I. Ascent Class — Rock (Combined) 2. Ascent Region — Tian-Shan, Trans-Ili Alatau ridge 3. Peak, its height, and ascent route — p. Sportivnaya, 4000 m, North-North-West edge 4. Proposed difficulty category — 3B 5. Route characteristics — height difference — 600 m, average steepness ≥ 50°?; length of sections: I difficulty cat. — 150 m, II difficulty cat. — 405 m, III difficulty cat. — 655 m, IV difficulty cat. — 180 m, V difficulty cat. — none, VI difficulty cat. — none 6. Pitons hammered: for belay, for creating intermediate belay anchors

Ascent Passport

1. Ascent class — high-altitude and technical;
2. Ascent area — Pamir, Academy of Sciences Range;
3. Peaks, their height, ascent route — Traverse of p. Kirova (6372 m) — p. Khokhlova (6701 m) — p. Kommunizma (7495 m) with ascent from Walter Glacier via the East Ridge;
4. Expected difficulty category — 5B;
5. Route characteristics: height difference — 3400 m, length of sections of 1st difficulty category – 1500 m, 2nd difficulty category – 1900 m, 3rd difficulty category – 6680 m, 4th difficulty category – 2200 m, 5th difficulty category – 120 m, average steepness — 30°;
6. Pitons hammered: for creating ITO — none; for belaying — of which rock — 24, ice — 28, bolt — none;
7. Number of travel hours — 38;
8. Number of nights and their characteristics — 3 nights, lying down;
9. Full name of the leader, participants, and their qualification: